Saikō-in, temple in Nara, Nara

Saikō-in is a Kegon-school Buddhist temple in Takamikado-chō, Nara, with the mountain name Shiun-san. It began as a sub-temple of Gangō-ji. Its halls hold a wooden statue of Kūkai, shown only from 20 to 30 April, and a coloured wooden standing Eleven-Headed Kannon designated an Important Cultural Property.

Saikō-in began as a sub-temple (shiin) of Gangō-ji, the Nara temple complex whose origins go back to the Asuka period. It belongs to the Kegon school and carries the mountain name Shiun-san. The sources do not record a founding date, so its early history is tied to Gangō-ji rather than to an independent foundation.

Saikō-in belongs to the Kegon school and was originally a sub-temple of Gangō-ji. Its name is written 西光院, and the temple's mountain name is Shiun-zan. The wooden statue of Kōbō Daishi (Kūkai) is a hidden image shown only from 20 to 30 April each year, a ten-day window that shapes when devotees visit.

Saikō-in stands at 21 Takamikado-chō in Nara. It is about 9 minutes on foot from JR Kyōbate Station, 10 minutes from Kintetsu Nara Station exit 2, and 17 minutes from the east exit of JR Nara Station; Nara Kōtsū buses stop at Minamifukuro-chō, 5 minutes away. The wooden statue of Kōbō Daishi (Kūkai) is shown only from 20 to 30 April.

Saikō-in began as a sub-temple of Gangō-ji, the temple complex that once dominated this part of Nara. Its principal image, a wooden coloured standing Eleven-Headed Kannon, is a designated Important Cultural Property. A wooden statue of Kūkai (Kōbō Daishi) is kept hidden and shown only from 20 to 30 April each year.